Murderers in Riverclan V.3 [welcome back!]

[Daisieze]

Cranestar glanced over at Spiderleaf. "We where wrong, " she murmured. "Daydream will be welcome back if we can get rid of whoever is doing this," she meowed, worried for her clan, but determined to stop the murders. "Can you see how he died?" She asked Spiderleaf.

(Frecklepaw)

[hxneystorm]

frecklepaw: ||

2/5 votes.

[recklessgod]

Frecklepaw

Frecklepaw awoke to commotion in the elders den. It seemed Hawkgaze had passed. Had it been in his sleep, or another murder? He wasn’t close enough to the others to hear their murmured words. With the way everyone was swarmed, everyone that was left at least, he assumed the murderer had struck again.
(voting spiderleaf)

[hxneystorm]

frecklepaw: ||
spiderleaf: |

3/5 votes. i will be closing votes at rollover tomorrow.

[hxneystorm]

votes are closed!
frecklepaw for exile.

[hxneystorm]

ＲＩＶＥＲＣＬＡＮ

"we were wrong, " cranestar had murmured, her odd-coloured gaze locked onto the cold body of hawkgaze that lay at her paws, with spiderleaf at her side. "...daydream will be welcome back if we can get rid of whoever is doing this.”

silence hung in the air for a moment, the scent of death that combated it being the only thing that told the pair that the elderly tom was not sleeping. “can you see how he died?"

spiderleaf dropped down to inspect his father’s body, hesitating as he buried his nose into the other’s fur, fighting back the urge to cry. He’d lost his brother, and now his father was laying dead in front of him. Sure, he had known the day was coming- his father was old, and death was inevitable, but he hadn’t expected it to be like this. shifting onto his haunches and gently pawing over hawkgaze’s body, spiderleaf came to a stop when he felt tender muscle around the tom’s throat.

“the muscles on his neck are tight, cranestar, i think there’s bruising.”

the aforementioned leader frowned. “...go on.”

“this wasn’t natural, and if he was having pains beforehand, he would have come to me about it. he was choked.”

cranestar avoided spiderleaf’s gaze as she turned to the mouth of the den, staring out into the camp. flipbeetle had just emerged from the warrior’s den, her attention directed at the apprentice’s den, where frecklepaw and mallardpaw still slept. turning back to her medicine cat, she gave a nod for him to follow her back into the camp, and took her position upon a rock. flipbeetle blinked, and, before cranestar had opened her mouth to call for everyone's attention, took this as a sign to go wake the apprentices up. within moments, the five surviving cats were gathered.

"hawkgaze has been found dead. we were wrong in our exile of daydream, and it has cost us another clanmate."

mallardpaw tensed, amber gaze locked on her leader as she gave a shocked whisper of her grandfather's name. frecklepaw pressed himself against the tabby in an attempt to console her, and flipbeetle's features were covered with nothing but uncertainty as she looked between the gathered cats.

there was silence for a moment further, before cranestar continued. "we will host another vote."

it was spiderleaf who spoke up after a moment of awkward silence.
"i think it was frecklepaw?"

his mew came out uncertain, but as soon as the words left his mouth, all eyes were on the patched apprentice. mallardpaw jerked, her gaze darting over the other apprentice with almost as much uncertainty as spiderleaf had been- but she remained silent.

frecklepaw bristled, his ears lowering. "well, i think it was spiderleaf," he retaliated, gaze locking with the medicine cat's, who stiffened, not expecting the younger tom to bite back. the attention turned to spiderleaf, who hurriedly shook his head in response.

flipbeetle looked between frecklepaw and spiderleaf, before turning her gaze to cranestar. the deputy shifted, but voiced no vote.

"my vote goes to frecklepaw," cranestar said after a moment, her odd-coloured gaze locked onto the calico tom, who shied away, "i cannot think that spiderleaf would do such a thing."

"and you think i would?" frecklepaw's fur began to bristle. "you have no proof!"

mallardpaw stepped away from her clanmate, who looked hurt at the loss of further contact. she appeared conflicted- being supportive was her thing, but with baseless accusations of murder, she knew of nothing she could say that would ease the growing tension in the clan.

cranestar's muscles tightened, and she hurriedly tore her gaze away. "i- frecklepaw, you have been deemed guilty of the murders of koisplash, pinefrost, and hawkgaze. please leave camp, and if you are seen on riverclan territory after this, we will not hesitate to use force."

"cranestar, wh-"

"now."

"you're wrong!" the tom's voice cracked as he turned on his paws and ran towards the camp's entrance, betrayal clear in his brown eyes. "you're wrong, cranestar, and i won't forgive you!"

and, with a final glance at mallardpaw, he was gone.

uh oh, riverclan, another innocent!

xxxLeader --
xxxxxx↳ cranestar // molly // BrightDays

xxxDeputy --
xxxxxx↳ pinefrost // tom // montmorency
xxxxxx↳ flipbeetle // molly // sylveonsweetie987

xxxMedicine Cats --
xxxxxx↳ daydream // tom // Tainted~Wings
xxxxxx↳ spiderleaf // tom // Midnightkitkat

xxxWarriors --
xxxxxx↳ koisplash // molly // ✧Mahou Shoujo✧

xxxApprentices --
xxxxxx↳ frecklepaw // tom // recklessgod
xxxxxxxx↳mentor: flipbeetle
xxxxxx↳ mallardpaw // molly // patchyyy
xxxxxxxx↳mentor: koisplash cranestar

xxxElders
xxxxxx↳ hawkgaze // tom // crutchie_

round info: here
discord: here

toms: 05
mollies: 04
total: 09


----


families + relationships:
xxx- hawkgaze + ???
xxxxxpinefrost, spiderleaf
xxx- pinefrost + ???
xxxxxmallardpaw
xxx- ??? + ???
xxxxxkoisplash, frecklepaw

[the sound]

been a week since the last post, is this round still open?))

[hxneystorm]

( yep, i got caught up with things for my final assessment for uni. kill will be up in the next day or so.

[hxneystorm]

ＲＩＶＥＲＣＬＡＮ

cranestar sat alone in her den, her snowy tail curling tightly around her body as she stared outside, expression grim. what had gotten into her? she hadn’t even given frecklepaw a moment to explain himself before she exiled him, and the silence that followed in the camp afterwards seemed to eat her up. how was she to lead a clan of four? she had no idea whether daydream would wish to be welcomed back, and frecklepaw seemed positively betrayed to have been exiled. was he innocent, too? her head whirred- she was restless, and uneasy.

“cranestar?”

there was a voice at the entrance to her den, and she looked up, half expecting to see the eyes of a cold blooded killer who had come to pick her off next, only to lock eyes with flipbeetle, who now stood in front of her, no malice to be seen. the leader said nothing in greeting and instead lowered her head to her paws, shifting over in her nest to give the other molly some space. the chocolate coloured warrior laid down next to her leader, gently beginning to groom the other's fur in an attempt to ease her worries.

"a friendly face was just what i needed," a pause, "thankyou flipbeetle."

there was a hum in response.

"it's been eating me up. i can't help but thinking i was wrong to exile daydream and frecklepaw. would they come back if i admit i was wrong? if i can actually... prove i was wrong? i never gave frecklepaw a chance."

flipbeetle shifted. "i never know what to say when you tell us someone's died, cranestar," she mewed through a mouthful of fur, "there's so little of us left- a murderer was the last thing we all expected. i'm sure daydream and frecklepaw wouldn't complain about coming back, y'know? you can figure something out, i promise."

cranestar gave a sigh. "we've all lost so much, flipbeetle. i never know how to go about it. half the time i'm blindly following whoever else speaks because i can't bring myself to accuse anyone." a grimace when flipbeetle's whisker brushed against her ear, "i feel like i'm going off baseless accusations."

"you don't need to worry, cranestar- i'll stay by your side for as long as you can. you can trust me. i-"

she cut herself off, and followed odd-coloured eyes to a pair of white paws at the reeds surrounding the den, where our killer now stood. cranestar blinked, and flipbeetle lifted her head.

"[redacted], hello," the snowy leader began slowly, shifting into a seated position in an attempt to make it look like she hadn't just been pouring her heart out to a dear friend, "do you need something?"

a head parted the reeds. "apologies for interrupting, cranestar," the killer spoke, their words muffled by a fish in their jaws, "but uhm, i bought you this. i caught it not too long ago, s- so it's fresh, and i know you're not doing well."

the two she-cats eyed the fish. it was plump, and it's silvery scales glistened in the dappled sunlight when the newcomer placed it down in front of cranestar's nest. "thankyou, [redacted]," cranestar mowed, and, with a dip of their head, our killer backed away.

taking out his leader in a final attempt to prove themselves- the clan's deputy being there only added to the risk.

it didn't take long for the mollies to sink their teeth into the juicy flesh of the fish, but after that first bite, it took even less time for the killer's plan to fall into place. the fish had been stuffed with a mixture of death berries and foxglove seeds, the sounds of choked, pained gasping quickly filling the air. red juices from the berries stained cranestar's white muzzle, and flipbeetle's honey-coloured eyes were glossed over. the deputy was the first to go, of course- she wasn't the one with a few more lives under her belt.

when cranestar came back to, a stupid, simple swipe of her tongue over her maw and a swallow of whatever was left in her mouth in an attempt to free herself from the juices was enough to bring her back down. bile rising in her throat as she staggered through the reeds and draping willow branches to the nearest running source of water, the molly fought for something to rinse her mouth out as her vision faded in and out.

at this point in time, mallardpaw had exited the apprentice's den, frantic at the sound of commotion. she fought back a shriek as she locked eyes with cranestar, foggy and disoriented, on the brink of collapsing by the riverbank. the leader's paws were shaking under the weight of keeping herself upright, a numbness settling into her lower limbs.

mallardpaw spun around, amber eyes frantically searching for a familiar pair of leaf-green ones that she hoped, prayed would send her some immediate comfort. spiderleaf. her uncle, her anxious mess of an uncle who knew his way around herbs and the medicine den, her only living relative after the murders of her father and grandfather, her uncle who would surely be able find a solution to what was going on-

"spiderleaf? spiderleaf! there's something wrong with cranestar, she-"

there was silence as mallardpaw locked onto the tom, who seemed eerily calm.

"...spiderleaf?"

the killer spun around to face his niece.

"spiderleaf, where's flipbeetle? why aren't you-"

"i'm sorry, mallardpaw."

the apprentice froze. cranestar was audibly struggling to breathe now, she could hear it- but her paws were rooted to the spot. her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, but no words came out.

"wh- what do you mean, 'i'm sorry'? what are you-"

"i did this." his stare was determined, but oddly vacant. mallardpaw tensed, and managed to take a few steps towards a choking cranestar before she was blocked by spiderleaf.

"spiderleaf?"

"i killed them. i- i killed them all. i needed to show them all that i was worthy. i didn't mean fo- for it to go this far."

cranestar fell silent, and hit the riverbank with a thud. she moved no more.

mallardpaw's fur began to bristle. it all seemed to click into place- that first night, that first murder, that vaguely familiar voice that she heard lure koisplash away to her doom and later her own father, that was spiderleaf. she could no longer able to find the comfort she so desperately needed in the eyes of the medicine cat.

"what is wrong with you?!"

the apprentice's voice cracked, and she stepped back, her pupils constricting to slits. he tore this clan apart from the inside and watched it burn. watched his clanmates be exiled and perish at his own paw. and thought he could get away with it. the tabby's ears lowered and she stared at the tom with such hatred that he visibly recoiled, his shoulders tightening.

"they all thought we were weak, you know that?" spiderleaf choked, his gaze not leaving the scathing look of the apprentice's as the anxiety began to settle in. "daydream and i. they talked behind our backs be- be- be- because we were warriors before this, because we were broken. we weren't fit for the life of warriors, s- so obviously we were unfit for the role of medicine cats."

there was a newfound venom in his eyes that scared mallardpaw. it seemed so characteristically paranoid, yet so uncharacteristically hateful at the same time, and she didn't know what to think.

"and i kn- knew you all thought the same. so i had to prove myself. i had to prove myself to- to you all."

"and this was the way you thought to go about it?" mallardpaw stepped closer to the tom, hackles raised. "did- did you even think about what you were doing?!"

"i don't know." the tom shook, and he glanced over at cranestar's body, "but it's over now."

and in that fleeting moment where spiderleaf's gaze left her own, mallardpaw pounced.

the tabby launched herself at the medicine cat's throat, sinking her teeth into his flesh and not letting him go. her body shook, but she refused to budge, even when she felt him struggle and fall to the ground, the taste of the tom's bitter blood filling her mouth. moments passed, and she let go, spitting out the blood and watching it splatter scarlet onto the silvery pebbles underpaw.

mallardpaw stared at spiderleaf's body, to cranestar's frame by the river, and to the shadow in the leader's den that she presumed was flipbeetle's corpse. this wasn't how she had expected it to end, but...

it was over now.

congratulations, riverclan, you've found the killer! the bodies have been buried and both frecklepaw and daydream have been welcomed back, but the clan has a lot of rebuilding to do to reach it's former glory..

xxxLeader --
xxxxxx↳ cranestar // molly // BrightDays

xxxDeputy --
xxxxxx↳ pinefrost // tom // montmorency
xxxxxx↳ flipbeetle // molly // sylveonsweetie987

xxxMedicine Cats --
xxxxxx↳ daydream // tom // Tainted~Wings
xxxxxx↳ spiderleaf // tom // Midnightkitkat

xxxWarriors --
xxxxxx↳ koisplash // molly // ✧Mahou Shoujo✧

xxxApprentices --
xxxxxx↳ frecklepaw // tom // recklessgod
xxxxxxxx↳mentor: flipbeetle
xxxxxx↳ mallardpaw // molly // patchyyy
xxxxxxxx↳mentor: koisplash cranestar

xxxElders
xxxxxx↳ hawkgaze // tom // crutchie_

round info: here
discord: here

toms: 05
mollies: 04
total: 09


----


families + relationships:
xxx- hawkgaze + ???
xxxxxpinefrost, spiderleaf
xxx- pinefrost + ???
xxxxxmallardpaw
xxx- ??? + ???
xxxxxkoisplash, frecklepaw

[Daisieze]

May I host with sylveonsweetie987?